Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1887-08-04
AN OLD FAkER's STORY.
How Professional Rascals Swindle Super
stitious Country People.

"Well." the general modus operandi,
in brief, is this: My partner is an
agent Sometimes he is taking sub
scribers to family Bible. and some
times he is selling county rights to-
manufacture churn or cheese-press.
He enters populous and wealthy
ncighborhood, secures board at the
nearest inn, or with some leading far
mer, and while seeming to push his
business he is making cautious and par
ticular inquiries. He finds who is all
ing, and what the complaint; who has
lost money or stock in mysterious
way; who is inclined to superstition.
and in what particular direction; who
has lost relatives and whether they
were old or young, good or bad. He
picks up and jots down in memo
randum-book perfect encyclopedia of
facts and incidents, and the book is
sent to me at a point and at q time
agreed upon. ! am working another
neighborhood, and some weeks after he
has passed out Of sight and mind sud-
denly appear upon the scene. Ireach
the farm ho use of John Smith about
dark, and arrange to stay over night.
After supper / ask him about his sister
Helen, who died Of consumption ten
years before; about the horse which
was stolen from his barn on tho night
of September 81. 1879; about the light.
ming striking his barn in 1880; about
his mother falling out Of wagon and
breaking her leg twenty-cne years be-
fore. and so on and SO on, proving, to
the unboundcd astonishment of the
family. that 1 am entirely conversant
with their history. How did know
all these thingsP am the seventh son
of seventh son, and it all came to me
as entered the gate.
That's the starter, my dear boy, and
1t never fails TO catch on. am en-
treated to tell where that horse went
to; whether there isn't treasure buried
on the farm; what member of the fam
lily is to go next; when the hog cholera
will appear next, and so on and so
forth. My terms are from s25 to 5000,
according to tho gullibility of the vic
tim and his ability to fork over the
needful. If he simply wants the past
and future, l can accommodate him for
about $25. II he wants to know any
thing about buried treasure. set my
figures at high-water mark. Out of,
say twenty families In neighborhood,
eighteen will want my services and pay
me well for them. and l will live in
clover for couple Of weeks"
"But about the buried treasurer"
"Oh, that's all right. In every pop
ulous country, no matter what State 1t
is in. there are legends of treasure
buried by the Indians or by robbers.
My partner fixes all that. He picks up
an old Mexican dollar in some door
yard or barnyarl, and asserts that 1t
/ must have been portion Of some
treasure buried many years before. l
never saw q farmer yet who couldn't
be convinced that he owned farm
with pot Of gold and silver waiting to
be dug up. We bought $500 worth of
old gold and silver coin in New York
as starter. My partner has two or
three ancient-looking pots and jugs
among his baggage, and he manages to
make burial somewhere in each good
workable neighborhood. 1t is close to
some prominent object, and have no
difficulty in pointing out the place.
When it is profitable to work tho treas
ure racket l go into q trance, and see
three pots or jugs full of money under
ground. One is more accessible than
the Others, but II contains by far the
smallest sum Of money. That can be
found in half IN hour; the others will
require days of careful search and Dig
ging. If the farmer comes to my
terms | locate pot containing from
$40 to $50. He finds the pot and the
money is in 1t. II the one pot is there
why shouldn't the other two beP The
one find excites all his cupidity, and he
isready to believe any story may tell
him. The treasure racket is worked
only when / am about to leave neigh
borhood."
sand you impose on people in this
mannerp"
Sorry to say that We do, but the
people themselves arc to blame for 1t.
Any one Of sense ought to know that it
is imposition. l have great luck in find
ing stolen or lost articles. If horse
has been stolen. follow him into some
other county, and locate him on n given
farm. l give the name Of the thief and
locate him. This is also done Just be-
fore / leave, for reasons which will be
apparent A very singular incident
occurred to me in Indiana last summer
/ was In neighborhood where rich
old lady had lost SIG. 900 in bonds and
jewelry. The box had been taken out
Of her house during her absence, and
there was absolutely no clue TO the
robber. She offered me $500 to recov-
or the property. ! knew l couldn't do
1t, but she hung on and was SO urgent
that TO get rid Of her / went into
trance and saw the box in the loft of
m old log house which l remembered
seeing on the highway four or five miles
from her house. l told her that II the
box had been removed from there it
was duringa thunderstorm, at which
timo could not see. Well. take my
head for football II she didn't send
man of on horse that very evening;
and inside Of an hour he was back with
the box! Yes. SIR, found It exactly
where I said 1t was; and the old lady
counted me out $500 In tho cleanest
kind Of greepbacks. My stock in chat
ncighborhood went up ono hundred
per cent mt Onca and reaued n frold-